16. ALBANY (18-14) Conf.: America East | PPG: 65.9 | OPP: 64.0 Post-ing up: The Great Danes are in the tourney for the second straight year. What Albany lacks in talent, it makes up for with clutch play.

12. STEPHEN F. AUSTIN (31-2) Conference: Southland PPG: 76.5 | OPP: 62.6 Post-ing up: The Lumberjacks opened the season with three wins in their first five games, but then won 28 straight to reach their first NCAA Tournament since 2009.

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4. UCLA (26-8) Conference: Pac-12 PPG: 81.8 | OPP: 71.0 Post-ing up: Fun to watch but weak defensively, UCLA will need to score big to win. The Bruins are capable of putting on a show — as they did in winning the Pac-12 conference tournament.

3. SYRACUSE (27-5) Conference: ACC PPG: 68.2 | OPP: 59.3 Post-ing up: The Orange opened the season with a school-record 25 wins, but lost four of their final six games of the regular season. With Jerami Grant back from injury, Syracuse could make its second straight Final Four.

6. OHIO STATE (25-9) Conference: Big Ten PPG: 69.8 | OPP: 59.8 Post-ing up: The Buckeyes season began with 15 consecutive wins and followed that with five losses in six games, finishing fifth in the conference and with the seventh-best scoring defense in the nation.

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11. DAYTON (23-10) Conf.: Atlantic 10 PPG: 73.6 | OPP: 67.6 Post-ing up: Transfer Jordan Sibert couldn’t get off the bench at Ohio State, but his shooting touch hasn’t gone to waste for the Flyers, who have won nine of their last 10 regular-season games.

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7. NEW MEXICO (27-6) Conference: Mountain West PPG: 74.6 | OPP: 66.4 Post-ing up: New Mexico won’t overlook its first foe this year, not after it was stunned by Harvard last March. This veteran group, led by Cameron Bairstow and Kendall Williams, is eyeing a big run.

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10. STANFORD (21-12) Conference: Pac 12 PPG: 73.5 | OPP: 68.6 Post-ing up: The Cardinal is back in the Big Dance after a six-year absence. Stanford snuck into the field, despite a poor finish to the regular season, but has faced a rugged schedule that included high seeds Michigan and Arizona.

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2. KANSAS (24-9) Conference: Big 12 PPG: 79.6 | OPP: 70.5 Post-ing up: Arguably the most talented team in the country, the Jayhawks have had consistency issues, and could be without touted freshman center Joel Embiid (back, knee) for their first two games.

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15. EASTERN KENTUCKY (24-9) Conf.: Ohio Valley PPG: 79.0 | OPP: 70.6 Post-ing up: The Colonels are one of the nation’s worst rebounding teams, but make up for it by shooting 49 percent from the field. Eastern Ky. knocked off the top two seeds to reach the tournament for the first time since 2007.